


Promise

by heyjupiter



Category: Breaking Bad
Genre: Gen, Past Relationship(s), Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-03-07 20:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3181541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Maximino Arciniega Chemistry Scholarship is awarded to "promising students in the field of chemistry who demonstrate financial need." Gustavo Fring's role is primarily as a financial figurehead, but when he meets Gale Boetticher at the university's awards luncheon, Gustavo sees something more in him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toastpiercer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toastpiercer/gifts).



_February 1997_

As was usual on days when he wasn't required to be out of town, Gustavo settled into his routine at the flagship Pollos Hermanos in Albuquerque. It wasn't his largest location (Amarillo) or his most profitable (Las Cruces), but it was the first one he'd launched in the United States and he had a certain sentimental fondness for the location. 

He got there at 5am to open the restaurant for breakfast, along with a few hourly crew members. This schedule meant that usually, after everything was up and running for the day, he had some quiet hours to get work done in his office before the lunch rush. It meant that he would be around to assist with any problems that might spring up over the course of the morning. And it generally kept his evenings free.

By 7am, everything appeared to be running smoothly in the kitchen, so he took a cup of coffee, shut the office door and went over his inbox. Nothing urgent--a vacation request to approve for one of the assistant managers, a request for a donation from the local library for their upcoming summer reading program, and a pink phone message slip, advising him to call back Thomas from UNM. 

He approved the vacation request, packaged up 500 coupons for free kids' meals to send to the library, and considered the message from UNM. It would likely still be too early to call back; academic committees did not keep the same schedules as fast food restaurants. The message was irritatingly unspecific, "call back" was not helpful information. He supposed the message had probably been taken by a low-paid high school student. He sipped his coffee and attempted to quash his irritation.

He assumed "Thomas" was Professor Tomas Diaz, one of the two people at UNM who ever contacted Gustavo. (The other was Gina Anderson, the Vice President of Major Gifts.) Diaz was the current chair of the chemistry department's scholarship committee, which selected recipients of the college's scholarships. Including, of course, the Maximino Arciniega Chemistry Scholarship, which his lawyer had helped him establish four years ago.

The scholarship was a way to launder money as well as part of the front he had constructed for himself--generous, community-minded businessman. But that didn't mean it wasn't also a way to honor his lost partner. It had been a slight risk to name it after Max--anyone who dug too deep into it might discover the facts behind his death, might somehow connect it to the cartel, to Gustavo's own endeavors--but those records were well buried, and it was a risk he had decided was worthwhile. After all, Max had been instrumental in the success that made funding the scholarship (and so many other things) possible, and honoring him in this way felt true in a way that few other things did. 

When Gustavo had paid for Max's education, he'd promised that it would mean a better life. It was a promise he'd ultimately failed to keep, but perhaps it could still be true for someone.

His role in maintaining the scholarship was primarily financial. He did meet with the winners for a photo op at the university's awards luncheon each year, but beyond that, he had little interaction with the students. The scholarship was for the departmental committee to award, based on the vague criteria he had set when he had endowed the scholarship. (A "promising student" in the field of chemistry who demonstrated "financial need." Just as Max had been, although Max had been so many other things that could not reasonably be used as scholarship criteria.) 

Normally the scholarship was awarded around this time of year, but customarily they sent him a letter announcing the winners in March and an invitation to the luncheon in April. It was curious for the committee to contact him directly, and Gustavo disliked the deviation from established routine. 

Gustavo busied himself with sales reports from the Arizona franchises. Business looked good there, but it could always be better, and he made some small notes to discuss during his next visit. 

Finally, Gustavo looked at his watch and found that it was 9:30am, which he deemed a reasonable hour to return this call. A receptionist put him through to Tomas Diaz, the current head of the chemistry department's scholarship committee.

"Good morning, Mr. Fring, thank you for returning my call."

"Yes, of course. How may I assist you, Professor Diaz?"

After a slight hesitation, the man said, "I, ah, was just calling about the Maximino Arciniega Chemistry Scholarship. Thank you, again, for endowing it--it's very generous of you, and I know it makes a big difference in these students' lives."

Since he was alone in his office, Gustavo allowed himself the luxury of making an impatient facial expression. Aloud, he said, "Of course. It's my pleasure to be able to support these promising students."

"It's just--well, we were wondering. About the criteria for the scholarship recipients."

"Well, it's really up to you and your committee to determine the most promising candidates. The students in whom you see the most potential."

"And your only criteria are academic ability and financial need?"

"Yes," Gustavo said curtly. When he'd met with the director of gifts, she'd asked if he wanted to limit it to Latino students. Gustavo resented the attempt at pigeonholing. Besides, he hoped to be seen as a businessman and philanthropist who rose above race and politics. 

"So," Diaz said tentatively, "A student's… social and political activities… would have no bearing?"

"The scholarship recipients must be current chemistry majors in good standing."

"Yes, of course. But aside from that…?"

"Perhaps this would be easier to discuss if you would like to go into specifics, Professor Diaz."

"Yes. Well. For the next school year, we're giving two awards, as usual. One of them will certainly go to Kelly Nielsen--she's a junior with a 4.0 GPA, very insightful student, vice president of the Women in Science club."

"Wonderful."

"And the other… well, we have many qualified students, of course, but were thinking about giving to Gale Boetticher. He's a sophomore, also a 4.0 student, extremely passionate about his work. He's a double major of chemistry and English, he's involved with the Campus Libertarians and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, he works at the Desert Bloom Coffee House, and, uh… he's the president of the Gay Straight Alliance."

"I see," Gustavo said, and he did. Max's scholarship endowment fund was untouchable, but UNM hoped to maintain good relationships with him in the hopes of future donations. He had encountered this before--many assumed that because he was Latino, he was also very conservative. Or perhaps they assumed that because he was rich, he was conservative. Whatever the case, he resented it, but also feared pushing back too hard against it. It served him well to be thought of as such. 

Coolly, Gustavo said, "Well, he sounds like a very hard-working young man. A fine candidate for the scholarship. But of course, I leave the final decision in the hands of the committee."

"Very well," Professor Diaz said. "Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Fring. And again, for your generous donation."

"Of course. I look forward to the awards luncheon." He hung up the phone without waiting to hear Diaz's farewell. He took a moment to consider a university with a Gay Straight Alliance. He knew that things were different here and now than they had been in his youth, of course, but he hadn't quite realized that things were so open now. 

When he was a student, they'd had bars, of course, and covert signifiers, but… he tried to imagine any kind of public, official organization for gay students at la Universidad de Santiago. His imagination failed him.

* * *

_April 1997_

"Lovely to see you again, Mr. Fring," Professor Diaz said. Gustavo shook his hand and looked past him, at the two students shifting awkwardly behind their professor. "And now I'd like to introduce you to the winners of this year's Maximino Arciniega Chemistry Scholarship, Gale Boetticher and Kelly Nielsen."

"Thank you so much," Kelly blurted. Her blonde hair was mostly in a ponytail, but pieces of it had escaped. She wore glasses and fidgeted uncomfortably, constantly pushing the loose locks of hair behind her ear. Gustavo had seen this behavior before at these events; he assumed she would be more comfortable in a T-shirt and jeans, which most college students seemed to wear constantly in the USA.

Gustavo smiled and shook her hand. "Congratulations on your achievements. I'm sure you'll go far in your chosen field."

The other student, Gale, also seemed uncomfortable to be there. His curly hair was unruly, and he wore a novelty tie with the periodic table printed on it. But he kept Gustavo's eye contact and gave a strong handshake. 

"Thank you so much," Gale said. "This scholarship is great... I can cut back my hours at the coffee house and dedicate more time to school stuff."

Professor Diaz nodded and went off to hover over other scholarship winners, and Gustavo, Kelly, and Gale found their assigned seats at the long banquet table of science students. Gustavo's assigned seat was next to Professor Diaz and across from Gale.

A waitress came out with a single plate. She scanned the table and said, "Oh, Gale Boticker?"

"Boetticher," Gale corrected with a polite smile.

"Sorry. But you had the veggie meal?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Great, I just wanted to bring this out before all the other stuff, so it didn't get mixed up."

"That's very thoughtful, thank you," Gale said. He sounded genuinely touched.

"Well, it's just like, policy," the waitress said with a shrug. She gestured at everyone else and said, "We'll have everyone else's stuff out in a jif." Sure enough, plates of grilled chicken and vegetables began appearing in front of everyone.

Normally, Gustavo made bland, polite conversation with the scholarship winners at these luncheons. Now, although he knew it was impolite, something compelled him to ask, "Tell me, Gale, does it bother you that your scholarship was funded by a fried chicken empire?"

Gale smiled. "Oh, not at all, Mr. Fring. I'm a vegan myself, but I believe in the free market. If other people want to eat chicken, someone's gotta sell it to them. I'm just happy you decided to put some of it into this scholarship fund."

"That's a very interesting perspective," Gustavo said. 

Professor Diaz, who had sat down shortly after Gale's vegan lunch was delivered, said, "Gale is very politically active."

Gustavo nodded. "It's wonderful when young people take an interest in our government."

Kelly said, "I'm a member of the Green Party!" Then she looked down at the table.

"What do you think about Nader's anti-nuclear stance?" Gale asked. "As a scientist."

"I mean, if you look at disasters like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, it seems pretty clear that using nuclear power is risky. And unnecessarily so, considering the other options available."

Gale nodded his head back and forth slightly. "That's true, that's true. But what are the risks of ongoing carbon emissions from coal burning?"

"Well, like Nader, I support increasing investigation into wind and solar power."

"Oh, of course, that's the best option. But I think we're a long way from those being viable alternatives. I share your concerns about nuclear energy--not to mention the storage of the waste! But I'm just not sure those outweigh the very real danger global warming presents." Gale spoke with earnest enthusiasm. Gustavo had the sense that he wasn't trying to make his peer look foolish; he was genuinely curious about all sides of the issue.

Diaz cleared his throat. "Perhaps Mr. Fring would be more interested to hear about your upcoming special projects than your political beliefs?"

Gustavo replied, "I'd be happy to hear about your projects, of course, but I'm always interested in political discourse. Particularly from such well-educated young people."

"So what do you think, Mr. Fring?" Gale asked. Again, Gale seemed truly interested in his thoughts, not just currying favor with his benefactor. His respectful but curious manner reminded Gustavo of his first encounters with Max.

Gustavo smiled at the memory and said, "I suspect I'm not as well-informed on this issue as I ought to be."

Gale replied, "Next week they're actually having a debate at the student union. For Earth Day. You should come. I mean, if you're interested."

Diaz said, "Gale, I'm certain Mr. Fring is too busy to attend student gatherings."

"Not at all. I appreciate the invitation. As a member of the community, it… behooves me to be aware of environmental issues. And to stay abreast of campus activities." Gustavo nodded once and took a bite of his grilled chicken breast.

Gale beamed. "There's more information in the events calendar, in the Daily Lobo."

"I'll look into that," Gustavo said. 

Diaz cleared his throat. "Yes, well, Kelly, why don't you tell Mr. Fring about the independent study you're doing this summer?"

"Oh! Sure," Kelly said. "I'm working with Professor Meyer in the area of synthetic bioinorganic chemistry." She explained her experiment to Gustavo. It sounded terribly dull, but she was clearly intelligent. Funding her education seemed to be a good use of Gustavo's funds.

"Are you also doing an independent study over the summer?" Gustavo asked Gale.

"Me? Oh, no, not this summer. I'm actually going backpacking in Central America. But I hope to do one next summer, after my junior year. Maybe with Professor Jones-Joffrey and her X-ray crystallography experiments, but I still have time to decide. I mean, there are so many fascinating fields to study!"

"How interesting. Where are you planning on traveling?" Gustavo asked, mildly amused at the image he had of Gale in Central America, but also relieved to have a non-scientific conversation topic.

After the meal was over and the speeches concluded, the attendees began to dissipate. Normally, Gustavo made his polite excuses as soon as possible. Today, though, he lingered a moment to speak with Gale.

"Oh, Gale, remind me, when is the nuclear power debate you spoke of?"

"I think it's Thursday evening. Um, like I said, you can check in the Daily Lobo."

Gustavo reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "Would you do me a favor and send me an email to remind me? Students have email accounts, correct?"

"Oh, yes, we're very modern here," Gale replied. He looked intently at the card before pocketing it. 

"I look forward to hearing from you."

"Yeah, definitely!"

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Gale. Your passion for your research has captured my imagination."

"Wow, thank you. That's an honor."

Gustavo extended his hand in farewell and said, "I like to think I see things in people."


End file.
